Bagan's Archaeological Zone

The power is even more unreliable here, so in the evenings, we always keep our headlamp close by. Nyaung U is filled with horse-drawn carriages. It really feels like we've stepped back in time. The horses look quite healthy, which is nice to see. A horse is also quite expensive, so they take good care of them. That’s why you don’t see horses doing fieldwork; the farmers can’t afford it. We actually only saw one horse with a very swollen leg and some nasty wounds. We were told it had been bitten by a snake. Still, it was hitched to a cart. I couldn’t help but loudly tell the owner that it looked really bad, that the horse was very sick, and shouldn’t be working. I hope he understood that tourists don’t want to use a horse in that condition and that he should make sure it gets better quickly. We chose a horse that was healthy, well-fed, without any wounds, and with reasonably good hooves to take us around the many ruins and pagodas. From 11 AM to 6:30 PM, we explored the countless pagodas for just 9,000 kyat. There are about 4,000 pagodas and stupas in Bagan's archaeological zone, which stretches over an area of 43 square kilometers. It’s truly a beautiful sight that greeted us. Everywhere you look, you can see the tops of the pagodas. There are many vendors at these attractions and quite a few tourists, so people are eager to sell. We bought a painting for 2,000 kyat and four bamboo bowls for 4,000 kyat. It can be hard to figure out where to start when the area is so vast. That’s why having a guide is a good idea; they can help navigate and know what’s best to see. The government has restored some of the smaller stupas that time has damaged. They’ve been restored in exactly the same style, but it still looks a bit “off” with brand new buildings mixed in among the old. We enjoyed the sunset from the top of Buledi, overlooking the area. The sun painted the sky and the tops of the pagodas in shades of red. I think Bagan’s pagodas and stupas can easily measure up to Cambodia’s famous Angkor Wat. They are truly worth a visit. As I mentioned, the government does whatever it wants. So, with just a week’s notice, it ordered the entire town of Bagan to be moved elsewhere. The original site was to be used exclusively for luxury hotels and resorts.